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Roundhouse
on Loch Tay, Scotland]] The roundhouse is a type of house with a circular plan, originally built in western Europe before the Roman occupation using walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical thatched roof. Roundhouses ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m. In the later part of the 20th Century modern new designs of roundhouse eco-buildings started to be built using techniques such as cob, Cordwood or straw bale walls and reciprocal frame green roofs. British Isles Celtic roundhouse.]] Roundhouses have been built in Britain since the Iron Age. They used walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical thatched roof and ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m. The Atlantic roundhouse, Broch and Wheelhouse styles were used in Scotland. Most of what is assumed about these structures is derived from the layout of the post-holes, although a few timbers have been found preserved in bogs. The rest has been filled in by experimental archaeology, which has shown the most likely form and function of the buildings. For example, experiments have shown that a conical roof with a pitch of about 45 degrees would have been the strongest and most efficient design. Peter J Reynolds also demonstrated that, although a central fire would have been lit inside for heating and cooking, there could not have been a smoke hole in the apex of the roof, for this would have caused an updraft that would have rapidly set fire to the thatch. Instead, smoke would have accumulated harmlessly inside the roof space, and slowly leaked out through the thatch. Many modern simulations of roundhouses have been built, including: * Butser Ancient Farm, Hampshire, England * Bodrifty Iron Age Settlement, Cornwall, England * Brigantium Archeological Centre, High Rochester, Northumberland * Castell Henllys, Pembrokeshire, Wales * Cae Mabon, Wales * Cockley Cley, near Swaffham, Norfolk, England * Flag Fen near Peterborough, England * Mellor roundhouse reconstruction, Greater Manchester, England * Peat Moors Visitors Centre, Somerset, England * St Fagans National History Museum, South Glamorgan, Wales * Tatton Iron Age roundhouse and pit, Cheshire, England * Scottish Crannog Centre, roundhouse reconstruction on a man made island, Loch Tay, Perthshire, Scotland Modern British roundhouses , constructed in 1997]] New designs of roundhouse are again being built in the Britain and elsewhere. In the UK straw bale construction or cordwood walls with reciprocal frame green roofs are used. That Roundhouse is an early example of a modern roundhouse dwelling which was build in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Wales without planning permission as part of the Brithdir Mawr village which was discovered by the authorities in 1998. It is constructed from a wooden frame of hand-cut Douglas Fir forest thinnings with cordwood infill, and reciprocal frame turf roof based on permaculture principles mainly from local natural resources. It was subject to lengthy planning battle including a court injunction to force its demolition before finally receiving planning approval for 3 years in September 2008. Raun Haus, Papua New Guinea Roundhouses are still in use in Papua New Guinea and are very similar to the ones built in western Europe before Roman occupation. Palloza, Galicia in Galicia, Spain]] A palloza is a traditional thatched house as found in the Serra dos Ancares in Galicia, Spain. They are circular or oval, and about ten or twenty metres in diameter and are built to withstand severe winter weather at a typical altitude of 1,200 metres. The main structure is stone, and is divided internally into separate areas for the family and their animals, with separate entrances. The roof is conical, made from rye straw on a wooden frame. There is no chimney, the smoke from the kitchen fire seeps out through the thatch. As well as living space for humans and animals, a palloza has its own bread oven, workshops for wood, metal and leather work, and a loom. Only the eldest couple of an extended family had their own bedroom, which they shared with the youngest children. The rest of the family slept in the hay loft, in the roof space. Rondavel, Southern Africa in Lesotho]] The Rondavel can be found in a various countries in Southern Africa , including Botswana, Lesotho (where the hut is also known as a mokhoro), South Africa and Swaziland. North America Modern roundhouses are being built such as the one at Dancing Rabbit ecovillage built out of cob. References External links * Animation showing how an ancient British roundhouse may have been constructed * Characterising the Welsh Roundhouse: chronology, inhabitation and landscape *Some examples of Reconstructed Celtic Roundhouses Category:House types Category:Prehistory Category:European archaeology Category:Sustainable building